Mama to five frozen teens.
Married to the Mister.
Writing - Meditating - Reading - Senior Dog Doting - Sober Living - are my jam.
Life is good.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Ah, what idiot let the dogs out?!?

I don't know who opened the gate and let the dogs run loose, but clearly the dog days of summer have vacated Wisconsin. C-O-L-D has arrived, along with damp and blustery. So much so that we said "Screw it" to our holiday lake plans for the next 2 days (because seriously, cold, wet, weather, 5 kids, 2 dogs and a 29.5 foot trailer--what part of that sounds like fun to you?!?)

So cold that I have 2 pots simmering on my stove: one holding the not-yet-picked-over remains of an organic chicken that I bought at our farmer's market (I bought the chicken whole, and roasted it for a special First Day of School dinner for my carnivorous offspring) which I am using to make the Pioneer Woman's delish Homemade Chicken and Noodles (soup--click on the name of the soup and it will take you to the recipe; I'm just too much of a techno-tard to figure out how to change the color on my blog)

The other is holding a simmering batch of Pioneer Woman's Black Bean Chowder with Yogurt-Cilantro Relish (again, clicky there) Which is truly the best soup on the planet. I'm talking orgasmic, people. And if you make it, don't slack and skip the relish because it takes the chowder from a regular ol' orgasm to a tantric orgasm.

Really, truly, it's that good.

Anyhoo, we survived the first three days of school and I just have to LOUDLY ANNOUNCE, for the sake of the "Christian" *!@&#$ homeschool mom-bitch who said to me at the annual "Christian" homeschool association meeting: "Uhhh, you mean after 30 months of waiting to get them home, you are sending them off to all-day school?!?"

Putting the boys in kindergarten was one of the best decisions ever!

For both them and for me and for everyone. My 8-hour daily reprieve allows me to homeschool the others, have a moment or two for myself, and feel re-energized. Our home during those hours is calm, relatively quiet and completely conflict-free. I see the visible change in the homeschooled kids already, who truly needed the break in tension after a long, crazy-behavior-filled August.

By the time 3:00 arrives and I have to pick up my Haitian Sensations, I feel excited to see them. Which, when you have a RAD kid who is exceptional at sucking the air out of your home and you typically count the hours until you can put him to bed, is an AWESOME feeling to have. It makes me feel like a real mom, instead of a crazy lady trying to hold it together.

The boys have done really well so far! They are making friends and both are cooperating well with the teachers. When Keenan comes home from school, all he wants to do is grab Hatfield and Atticus and play freeze tag outside. He works so hard at "holding it together" all day by sitting, listening, focusing (which isn't easy for him at all), that when he gets home, he just needs to shake it all loose.

Miles, on the other hand, needs a snack, a hug and some veg-out time in front of the tv. Both days he first played outside with the other kids, and I could see from the start he was in a foul mood and fixin' for a fight. I intervened twice and brought him in twice--not as a punishment, but as a "let mommy fill your belly and then you pick all by yourself what you want to watch on tv as a treat" type of privilege. He LOVES it.

We eat early here on school nights because they're all famished and if I don't feed them by 5 sharp they'll eat every snack in the house. So tonight, we're gonna hunker down with bowls of soup, watch a movie, and at this rate, do all of that in front of a roaring fire to drive out the damp chill in the house (because I refuse to turn on the heat before September 15--my God, which just had the air conditioning on less than 72 hours ago!)

4 comments:

I'm with you. Having that break each day allows me to be a better parent. The ESL has been WONDERFUL for J and he likes the interaction with other kids. He must be doing all right as he has one of the top math grades in his class. One year home. Woot!Amy

I can't...well yes I actually CAN believe that lovely Christian woman said that to you! Sounds like your decision is a win-win all the way around. I truly hope this year brings you and the boys good things.

The weather is crazy! The temp has dropped 30 degrees in just a week. It's so cold!

But, the sad thing is while 60 feels cold right now, it is actually going to get 70-80 degrees colder. Very soon. Ugh.

Next time a nosy lady tries to tell you how to raise your children, tell her what it IS really like. You can giggle to yourself as you watch her face contort while she frantically tries to think of how she can get away from you.

Did you punch her? Please please PLEASE tell me what you did to her??? Some people are just plain dumb.

I'm going to make a big batch of chili tomorrow...but I think I'll try the Chicken clicky and see what that is all about ;) Do you think it would freeze well? Trying to get some soups and things premade before surgery...or have to eat my husband's "cooking" for many days in a row...yikes!

The 5FC Crew

About Me

5 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and I'll pass on the partridge in the pear tree for now, thanks (although I'd take a pear tree.) We survived our 30 month long Haitian adoption process, and now I just try to live life in the moment, whether it's homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, refereeing, bandaging ouchies, giving hugs, vacuuming, doling out kisses, picking up play-dough, or attempting to keep up on the blog. My Mister is a legalized drug pusher, saving the local population from the horrors of herpes and prostrate problems. We put up with the burbs for now, but would one day like to live in the country, where I can raise alpacas, the girls can train dogs, our boys can be boys, and Mr. C. can work on project cars (waaayy out of sight in the far back of the yard) to his heart's content!